The amount is not small actor, athlete or public figure who have decided to capitalize on their popularity to make people around the world aware of the need protecting the environment from other places besides just separating waste between organic and inorganic materials. Robert Downey Jr. is one of them, And his decision to donate some of his cars in some way aligns with his role in the fight for a carbon-free planet.

This “green wave” has penetrated everywhere, including the world of car racing, where Sebastian Vettel, four-time Formula 1 World Champion between 2010 and 2013, he has been an active promoter synthetic fuel to drive future cars that have internal combustion engines. Since much earlier, though with a less flashy profile until he inherited the British throne last year, another symbolic case is that one King Charles IIIwho a few years ago had transformed his classic Aston Martin DB5 in a vehicle powered by bioethanol based on grapes and cheese.

But case Robert Downey Jrbest known for playing Iron Man in films and Oppenheimer’s current star really curious. He’s always been very interested in cars, and during the heyday of movies together Marvel Cinematic Universehe is happy to put together a huge garage of models of various types, among which there are supercar but also classic or emblematic representative of another time.

However, once the Avengers Endgame saga ended in 2019, decided that he wanted to contribute by direct action to reducing global warming take advantage of his arrival to the younger generation who are able to make changes and maintain them in the future. established The Footprints Coalitiona collection of businesses that invest in companies it deals with eco-friendly technology, he opened a farm with his wife and changed his diet. But then it showed up ethical issues in the media. His speeches are far removed from his actions, and his large collection of gasoline-powered cars is a true contradiction.

“I woke up one morning with the following question: ‘how can I reconcile the fact that I am committed to developing and improving sustainable technology and I own this collection of carsnot massive, but big enough, not having a positive impact on the environment?’” he said Motor Trend in a recent interview.

This is the idea of ​​making a TV shows where, at the rate of one per chapter, their six cars are converted into ecological or sustainable driving mode. The ideal is to do it directly with electricity, but it is not possible in all cases, so other alternatives appear that fall under the same concept.

The car that the 58-year-old actor chose was a chevrolet corvette from 1965, a Buick Riviera from 1966, a Mercedes 280 SE from 1969, a pick-up Chevrolet K-10 from 1972, a Volkswagen T Combi from 1972 and other pick-ups, though closer to today’s compacts in that they were monocoque and lacked a chassis, chevrolet el camino 1985.

The Corvette is very special because it is a high performance vehicle. The 1965 model was also a very special model because that year was the only model equipped with a 6.5 liter V8 engine. The engine disappeared and was under a huge hood now there is an electric motor. Also fully converted to electric are the VW Kombi and the Chevrolet K10 pickup.

In the case of vw vansthe rear engines are combined in the same place where the famous 1.1 liter air-cooled engine was originally located, and in the same rear area a electric grill powered by solar panels located on the roof of the vehicle. The truck, for its part, also replaced its original 6-cylinder drive with an electric one, and two battery packs were housed, one in the hood itself and the other in the cargo box. The powertrain they use is recycled from the Tesla Model S.

With Buick Riviera it’s different. It was Downey Jr.’s favorite car. in this parking lot. But its huge 6.9 liter engine could not be completely replaced by an electric car of the same size and performance, so it was decided to use one General Motors hybrid system.

He Mercedes-Benz 280 it also has a different connotation for the actor because the car belongs to his mother. The original engine, a 2.8-liter inline six-cylinder petrol engine, was replaced by an internal combustion engine, but powered by diesel. However, to put it greener, onto the pusher it was modified to run on biodiesel.

The latest model has perhaps the fewest technological changes to its new propulsion machine. This is about chevrolet el caminowhich was originally powered by a large 4.3 liter V6 engine, and now has a much smaller engine as it is equipped with 2.7 liter turbocharged 4 cylinderwhich significantly reduces consumption and exhaust emissions.

But what’s interesting about the RDJ proposal is cars participating in the program must have a purpose outside belongs to some sort of reality show. “Everything must be given. Everyone should have the opportunity for that spend five or 20 or 50 bucks… I want anyone to have the opportunity to own one of these cars,” said Downey Jr.

That’s the way the rules are so basic they seem unreal. The only requirements to enter to enter the sweepstakes are legal age and a resident of the United States, Canada (except Quebec) or the United Kingdom, and there are several ways to enter.

You can make a donation of at least 10 bucksand so can you buy official merchandise. The bigger the donation, the more raffle numbers you get. The same thing happens with the purchase amount in RDJ’s Dream Car website. If you don’t want to do any of these things, you can participate by writing a handmade postcard 10 × 15 cm with personal data and send to the address corresponding to the participating country that appears on the same website. All money raised will go to FootPrint Coalitionan NGO dedicated to fighting climate change.

The raffle participation period started on June 16 and will continue until July 16, 2024. The drawing of the six cars will begin on February 9, 2024 and will expire on July 31 of the same year.

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